Finland is a Nordic country in Northern Europe bordered
by Sweden to the west, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east; Estonia lies
to the south across the Gulf of Finland.
In 2013, Finland's population was around 5.5 million,
with the majority living in its southern regions. In terms of area, it is the
eighth largest country in Europe and the most sparsely populated country in the
European Union. Finland is a parliamentary republic with a central government
based in the capital Helsinki. The Åland Islands is an autonomous region of
Finland. Other large cities in Finland besides Helsinki include Tampere, Turku,
Oulu, Jyväskylä, Lahti, and Kuopio.
From the late 12th century until 1809, Finland was part
of Sweden. Right up to present day, this
legacy is reflected in the prevalence of the Swedish language and its official
status. Finland from 1809 was then incorporated into the Russian Empire as the
autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland until the Russian Revolution of 1917. The Independence
of Finland was then declared. Finland joined the United Nations in 1955 and
established an official policy of neutrality. It joined the Organisation for
Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 1969, the European Union in
1995, and the Eurozone at its inception in 1999.
Finland was a relative latecomer to industrialisation,
remaining a largely agrarian country until the 1950s. It rapidly developed an
advanced economy while building an extensive Nordic-style welfare state,
resulting in widespread prosperity and one of the highest per capita incomes in
the world. (Source: Wikipedia)
This postcard which depicts the National Flag, the
National Anthem and a typical scene of lake and trees came from Eija (15
October 2015) Postcrossing. On the
reverse, the National Anthem is printed in Swedish.
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